The fact that the White House reciprocal tariff memo covers far more than tariffs gives the administration a great deal of leeway to impose tariffs on even trading partners like Canada, Mexico and South Korea that have virtually no tariffs on U.S. exports.
The White House published the annex listing aluminum derivatives that will face additional Section 232 tariffs of 25%, as well as the annex with the steel derivatives that will face 25% tariffs.
The White House published its annex of steel derivative items that will be subject to Section 232 tariffs once CBP is ready to collect tariff revenue on those items.
The White House published the annex including the list of aluminum derivatives that will face additional 25% tariffs, unless the aluminum content in them was smelted and cast in the U.S.
Importers appear to be clamoring for more clarity over how CBP could potentially process imports of steel and aluminum derivatives in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders earlier this week calling for 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum (see 2502110004).
The reciprocal tariffs that the U.S. intends to levy on imports -- which could be announced as soon as April 2 -- may not be a one-for-one match of the tariff rate of another country for that product. Rather, they could take into account wage suppression, exchange rate management, "mercantilist policies," non-tariff barriers, value-added tax and extraterritorial taxes.
Japan has asked the Trump administration to exempt it from new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto said during a Feb. 12 press conference.
President Donald Trump's recent expansion of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs likely would survive a judicial challenge, particularly in light of the string of cases challenging the Section 232 duties imposed during his first term, trade lawyers told us. Thomas Beline, partner at Cassidy Levy, said Trump's move to eliminate the country-specific arrangements and product exclusions is "likely defensible," since the statute lets the president take any action he deems necessary where an agreement is "not being carried out or is ineffective."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., one of the leading voices in the House to end de minimis for e-commerce, said she wants President Donald Trump to remove all e-commerce from de minimis, so that it goes back to its original purpose of covering tourists' purchases. Given international direct-to-consumer shipping, "It’s become a vast gap in our customs regime," she said, causing a "flood of impossibly low-priced products that put American manufacturers out of business," and making it "almost impossible to enforce the ban on goods made with forced labor."